Best Fox Deterrent..Fox Den in back yard!!

[Henny0831]

Stumbled upon a burrow in our backyard a little bit ago and this morning saw a beautiful but huge fox wandering around. It appears to be healthy so I’m not worried about that. What I am worried about is our chickens! Does anyone have any advice on deterring fox away from coops? Anything that’s actually worked? I know that not much can stop them if they need food! Thanks!

 

[DobieLover]

Stumbled upon a burrow in our backyard a little bit ago and this morning saw a beautiful but huge fox wandering around. It appears to be healthy so I’m not worried about that. What I am worried about is our chickens! Does anyone have any advice on deterring fox away from coops? Anything that’s actually worked? I know that not much can stop them if they need food! Thanks!

An electric fence around your coop and run.

 

[Henny0831]

An electric fence around your coop and run.

Thanks for the response! We have 2 young children so that may not be our best option.

 

[BDutch]

A safe coop. And a run with a very high fence (hwc) bend to the outside. And hwc in / on the ground.
I have a drawing somewhere. I look it up and post it here in a few minutes,

https://www.natuurpunt.be/pagina/bescherm-je-kippen-tegen-de-vos

with google translate you can read the instructions.

We have foxes in the neighbourhood too from time to time. My run is about 6 feet tall and covered with strong netting. Never had trouble so far.

 

[DobieLover]

Thanks for the response! We have 2 young children so that may not be our best option.

It hurts very briefly when you touch the fence but it's nothing permanent. If a 5 pound chicken can touch the fence and not get injured I'm sure your kids would be fine.

 

[texsuze]

Ditto the need for protective fencing. Teach your kids to respect any electric fencing, since it will be helpful to have. We had foxes nearby for years. All they wanted was to eat the sunflower seeds that were billed out of the wild bird feeders--a reliable source of protein. Oh, and the occasional squirrel for dinner

 

[Rammy]

.22 works well.

 

[hayley3]

Stumbled upon a burrow in our backyard a little bit ago and this morning saw a beautiful but huge fox wandering around. It appears to be healthy so I’m not worried about that. What I am worried about is our chickens! Does anyone have any advice on deterring fox away from coops? Anything that’s actually worked? I know that not much can stop them if they need food! Thanks!

Do the chickens free range in your back yard or are they in a run?
Foxes can climb straight up a fence or a tree.
My foxes normally stayed in the front of my 8 acres but one day the fox or family of foxes decimated most of my flock.
Premier Electric Fence would be a good solution around children, if you are merely doing a run or around a coop.

 

[Folly's place]

First, having a predator proof coop and run. Then, electric fencing, and/ or a dog who's big enough (and fenced in!) to discourage close interactions with foxes.
Toddlers may be an issue, but anyone older can learn to respect fencing!
You might need to keep your birds in their safe coop and run most of the time, at least when you aren't out there yourself.
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

A couple years back we had a Red Fox pair shack up on other side of property line behind barn. I took my female German Pointer to den site and let her dig around for a bit. Kits and likely mother were in den. We went back next day and they had left.

They may move den site, but they will still hunt area with dogs present. We have a smarty pants actually approaching house with dogs clearly setting up to catch him. I will like help dogs catch him using a little bait.